Leather and method of producing the same



Patented Dec. 23, 1930 UNITED STATES EDWIN S. MIX, OF ROCHESTER, NEWYORK, ASSIGNOR TO HIGKOK MANUFACTURING PATENT OFFICE COMPANY, INC., OFROCHESTER, NEW YORK LEATHER AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THE SAME N Drawing.

The present invention relates to leather and to a method of producing anovel surface on the same, and an object of the invention is to providea novel surface on leather to prevent the leather slipping on asurfacein either or both of two opposite directions and, under certainconditions, crawling or creaping on the surface.

To this and other ends, the invention consists in leather articleshaving a novel surface and to a process of treating the leather toproduce such surface.

The invention embodies a leather of any desired form having a surface inwhich the major portion of the surface fibres project in either or bothof two opposite directions.

In ordinary leather the surface fibres run in various directions and Ihave found that if the surface be combed or cut in parallel lines by awire brush or other suitable means,

the or portion of the surface fibres are released at their ends and arecaused to project from the surface of the leather to provide fineprojections extending in either or both of two opposite directions at aslight angle to the surface while the transverse surface fibres are cutor broken down. The rotation or movement of the brush in one directioneffects the projection of a large number of fibres in that direction,and then the rotation or movement of the brush in the other directionwill project other fibres in the opposite direction.

I have also found that it is possible to increase the number of surfacefibres projecting in either or both of two opposite directions by atreatment of the hide during tanning to cause the or portion of thefibres to lie in parallelism. This result of parallelin the fibres maybe obtained by working the hide during the tanning operations in anumber of ways, such as stretching, jacking or rolling in a directionten ding to influence the fibres to lie in parallelism. Other ways ofrearranging the fibres in parallelism will suggest themselves to askilled tanner depending on the kind of leather being treated. Ofcourse,"when the leather has been treated during the tanning operationto rearrange its fibres in parallelism, the combing or cutting shouldtake place on lines parallel or sub- Application filed July 25, 1927.Serial No. 208,413.

stantially parallel with the rearranged fibres.

The leather is capable of various uses. One use consists in employing itin garters for holding stockings and half hose in which case the surfaceshould engage the skin or underwear of the user and the projectingfibres should extend downwardly in one directio only. This will preventthe garter slipping downwardly on the user and in fact the projectingfibres will have a tendency to cause the garter to crawl or creepupwardly on the leg. If the fibres are projected in two oppositedirections the garter will'have a tendency to maintain its positionagainst shifting up or down on the leg.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Leather having the major portion of its fibres arranged in onegeneral direction, and a surface combed in lines parallel with suchdirection.

2. The method of producing a leather surface which comprises stretchingthe hide in one direction during the tanning operations to cause themajor portion of the fibres of the hide to arrange themselves in suchdirection, and combing the surface of the leather in such generaldirection to cut the transverse surface fibres and release the surfacefibres to project in the direction of the combing.

3. Leather having the major portion of its fibres arranged in onegeneral direction, and the transversely extending surface fibres on itsflesh side out parallel with said direction, the ends of the majorportion of the surface fibres extending generally in one direction.

EDWIN S. MIX.

